1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to thermal analysis instruments and methods of using the same. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to using modulated temperature differential scanning calorimetry to account for solvent loss during analyses conducted using open calorimeters.
2. Background of the Invention
Differential scanning calorimeters (DSCs) are used to determine physical properties of a sample by analyzing the sample's response to an applied temperature program. In operation, a DSC measures a temperature differential between a reference and a sample being analyzed in the presence of a temperature profile applied to both the reference and the sample. Using the temperature differential, certain properties of the sample being analyzed can be determined.
Two general types of temperature profiles can be used during DSC experiments. One type of temperature program is linear. The second type of temperature programs, commonly referred to as a modulate temperature program, adds a modulation to a linear temperature program. DSCs using the second type of temperature program are commonly referred to as modulated temperature DSCs. Modulated temperature DSCs are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,224,775 and 6,561,692, both of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
DSC experiments can be performed using open or closed calorimeters. Open calorimeters are those that have an open sample cell. An open sample cell allows reagents to be easily added to calorimeter cells using automated pipettes. Generally, open DSCs have multiple calorimeter cells arranged in an array. In this manner, many experiments can be run in parallel. Because of the ease with which reagents can be added to calorimeter cells and the array arrangement, open calorimeters are useful in high-throughput applications.
Open DSC experiments typically involve placing a sample in a sample cell in the array, and then adding one or more reagents to the sample. For example, a number of different types of protein can be placed in an array of calorimeter cells as suspensions in water using an array of automated pipettes under robotic control. A controlled amount of ligand solution is added to each cell using automated pipettes under robotic control. By monitoring power signals from the calorimeter cells in response to an applied temperature profile, the interaction of characteristics of the various protein-ligand pairs can be rapidly assessed. This multi-sample cell architecture allows many experiments to be carried out in a rapid and efficient manner.
There is a serious disadvantage to using an open calorimeter arrangement in DSC experiments. This disadvantage is due to unknown solvent loss, which adds an uncontrolled contribution to the calorimeter measurement signal, and as a result, injects uncertainty in the calorimeter measurement.
One potential solution to this problem is to perform a differential experiment using a sample containing protein-ligand pairs, and a reference containing a same volume of solvent only, and assuming that the solvent loss in both the sample and reference cells is the same. In that way, simple subtraction could remove the unknown contribution due to solvent loss. Unfortunately, this does not solve the problem because the presence of the sample can change the rate of solvent evaporation in the sample relative to the reference. Thus, a differential arrangement with subtraction alone does not solve the problem. Further complicating the issue is that uncontrolled contribution to the heat flow caused by evaporation makes assessing enthalpies difficult because selecting the correct baseline is problematic. Similarly, when examining kinetics, the heat flow contribution from the process of interest cannot be disentangled from the heat flow contribution from solvent loss.